Multimedia

The Climate Challenge
G20 Interfaith
2023

The broad impact of changing climate and issues for intergenerational climate justice are central to all global agendas, from economic and financial policies to political and cultural relations. Religious actors have central roles, both in the formal spaces such as the COP meetings and in national and community policies. Translating this into effective advocacy and mobilization and modeling action link religious and interreligious communities to global and especially G20 agendas. This discussion will take stock of actions to date and look especially to the 2023 COP 28 meetings in Dubai. Both the Interfaith Rainforest Initiative and Faiths4Earth mobilize and integrate religious communities, working side by side towards global climate objectives. Moderator: Sadhvi Bhagawati Saraswati, Secretary General, Global Interfaith Wash Alliance, India; Panelists: Dr. Katherine Marshall, Vice President ,G20 Interfaith Forum; Rev. Fletcher Harper, Executive Director, GreenFaith; Maja Groff, Convener of Climate Governance Commission; Rev. Dr. Samuel Richmond Saxena, Dean, Faculty of Interfaith and Religious Studies and Director, Centre for Advanced Religious Studies, North East Christian University, Nagaland; Gopal Patel, Co-Founder & Director, Bhumi Global; Pinaki Dasgupta, Member –Working Group on Pollution, Faith for Earth Initiative, Sr. Consultant, The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India.

Spiritual Ecology interview
With Leslie E. Sponsel
2023
This interview is part of the Living One series on “Earth Restoration and the Evolution of Human Consciousness” hosted by The Kerulos Center for Nonviolence.
Spirit-led: An Interfaith Call to Climate Justice
For the Love of Creation
2023
This online gathering, hosted by EnviroMuslims, the Reform Jewish Community of Canada (RJCC) and For the Love of Creation (FLC), offered sharing in a circle of ritual and reflection on how our faith compels us to seek climate justice. The gathering was guided by Muslim, Jewish, Indigenous and Christian spiritual leaders, followed by discussion in breakout groups.
Interfaith Panel - Graduate Conference on Religion and Ecology
Yale Divinity School
2023
Moderator: Christopher Freimuth ’25 M.Div., Conference Co-chair; Steve Kanji Ruhl, Zen Buddhist minister, poet, journalist and memoirist; Jason Rubenstein Rabin, Rabbi and chaplain at Yale University; Stephanie Johnson, Episcopal priest grid chair of the churchwide Task Force on Care of Creation and Environmental Racism; Abdul-Rehman Malik, research scholar and Director of the Muslim Leadership Lab at Yale
Religion and the Environment - An Interfaith Exploration of Conservation and Environmentalism
New Canaan Land Trust
2022
The program begins with a lecture by Drs. Mary Evelyn Tucker and John Grim, co-founders and co-directors of the Yale Forum of Religion and Ecology, and professors at the Yale School of the Environment and Yale Divinity School. After, Reverend Stephanie Johnson of St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Riverside leads a panel discussion with faith leaders from in and around New Canaan, including: Dr. Kareem Adeeb: Board Chair of the Interfaith Council of Southwestern CT, and part-time Imam at the United Nations in New York; Reverend Elizabeth Garnsey of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church; Reverend Rob Kinnally of St. Aloysius Parish; Pastor Cliffe Knechtle of Grace Church; Rabbi Jay TelRav of Temple Sinai Stamford.
Faith as Our Motivator Building Resilience, Pursuing Justice + A Just Transition
ecoAmerica
2021

As we are called to activate our faith communities to bolder climate action, what do we do right now? We must continue talking about climate change as a moral, justice and faith issue in pulpits, educational programming, and in our communities, but we must do more. Faith traditions are deploying powerful new programs and resources and building networks to achieve climate solutions at the local, state and federal level. Hear about these new and innovative efforts to not only activate those already concerned about climate, but to reach others and build a broader base for faithful climate action and advocacy.

Protecting Sacred Water: A Conversation with Filmmaker Brittany App
People of Faith for Justice Podcast
2021

Water is life. It cleanses us, sustains our bodies, and connects all living beings and the planet. Our bodies are 70% water and 70% of our planet home is covered with water. Every faith tradition has some sort of sacred water ceremony. Water grows our food and keeps our grazing animals alive. In this episode, we explore all that water means to Earth with filmmaker Brittany App in a joyful conversation honoring Earth Day.
To listen to podcast, please follow this link. 

Religious Communities and the Planetary Crisis
Interreligious Ecojustice Network
2021

Faith leaders of various traditions speak together about how they are mobilizing their communities toward action in the face of planetary crisis.

My Neighbor is Hurting: How to Serve Those Experiencing Climate Stress and Grief
ecoAmerica
2021
Climate change is already impacting the mental health of communities nationwide, including the disproportionate impacts of fence line and frontline communities, and youth who are reporting climate anxiety at alarming rates. The faith sector can help. Learn how clergy, lay leaders, and faith communities can build personal AND community resilience in the face of climate change, guidance from mental health experts, and how you can serve your neighbor accordingly.  This episode includes the latest resources on mental health and resilience and an open Q&A with mental health experts.
FORUM2020: Global Interfaith Prayer Service for the Earth (Day 2)
Temple of Understanding & Marble Collegiate Church
2020

FORUM2020 & the Global Interfaith Prayer Service for the Earth were held on the occasion of the 60th Anniversary of the Temple of Understanding. World religious and spiritual visionaries, Indigenous leaders, scientists, and youth environmental activists came together to address the urgency of the climate crisis with strategies for inspired collective action. Over forty international speakers offered their wisdom and perspectives through keynote addresses, diverse panels, inspiring prayers and sacred music.
To watch video, please follow this link.

FORUM2020: Science, Spirituality, Climate Emergency, and Our Future
Temple of Understanding & Marble Collegiate Church
2020

FORUM2020 & the Global Interfaith Prayer Service for the Earth were held on the occasion of the 60th Anniversary of the Temple of Understanding. World religious and spiritual visionaries, Indigenous leaders, scientists, and youth environmental activists came together to address the urgency of the climate crisis with strategies for inspired collective action. Over forty international speakers offered their wisdom and perspectives through keynote addresses, diverse panels, inspiring prayers and sacred music.
To view video, please follow this link.

Ecojustice for All (Facebook webinar)
Religions for Peace USA and the Temple of Understanding
2020

With an intersectional perspective, voices from many religious traditions speak on what ecojustice for all means to them at the critical juncture for the climate that the COVID-19 pandemic has ushered in.

Follow link to view video

Faith for Earth: Climate Change and Environmental Justice
Coalition of Faith-Based Organizations
2020
Ahead of United Nations World Environment Day, leading environmental experts commended faith based organizations (FBOs) on their efforts to combat climate change, offering recommendations for better collaboration such as increased technological “interchange” and the establishment of platforms which would enable faith and science to better support each other. The discussion took place during KAICIID’s latest webinar on June 4, titled Faith for Earth: Climate Change and Environmental Justice, which was held in cooperation with the Coalition of Faith-Based Organizations, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). Participants addressed pressing environmental issues related to the United Nations Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
 
A Faith-Based Approach to Address the Biodiversity and Climate Crises
Arab Youth Climate Movement Qatar and UNEP/Faith for Earth
2020
The Faith-Based Organizations can become increasingly active on environmental issues, as all religions contain messages of environmental care and stewardship for a planet that can provide for human flourishing, with notions of sustainability embedded in religious texts. This can make particularly valuable contributors to the SDGs given the immense influence they have over 80% of the global population who are affiliated to one or another religious or spiritual community, and for many, faith is the main analytical lens that shapes their worldviews. As a part of International Day of Biological Diversity, the Arab Youth Climate Movement Qatar in partnership Faith for Earth, UNEP hosted a webinar and Q&A featuring Dr. Iyad Abumoghli, Director, Faith For Earth Initiative, UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and Kamran Shezad, Climate Change & Sustainability Lead, Bahu Trust, U.K who shared insights on Faith for Earth initiative by UNEP, their approach to engaging with faith leaders & faith-based organizations and Bahu Trust explained their work on Islam & Environment in the U.K.
Multi Faith Earth Day Service in honor of the 50th anniversary of Earth Day
Washington National Cathedral
2020

Washington National Cathedral and Interfaith Power & Light co-host this online service focused on our shared call to climate action. Join us in prayer and song in honor of the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. Our traditions are beautiful in their diversity. Each offers a unique gift to our collective effort to protect our Earth with all her living communities. Leaders from Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Jewish, Latter-Day Saints, Muslim, Sikh, Unitarian Universalist and other spiritual communities share their traditions' gifts through sacred text, commentary, and song, and call us to collective action.

If Not Now, Then What? The Present and Future of Climate Change
Rabbi Fred Scherlinder Dobb, Cassandra Carmichael, Nigel Savage, and Joelle Novey
Jewish Council for Public Affairs
2020

Peer-reviewed science offers a clear consensus: that climate change, caused by humans, is an existential threat, and the defining issue of our time. How can the Jewish community–from JCRCs to synagogues to national agencies–step up to meet this challenge? In this session at the JCPA2020 Workshop, top Jewish and interfaith experts offer concrete suggestions on why, how, and with whom to prioritize climate change as a core Jewish communal concern. They discuss the coalitional value of Jewish visibility, especially around environmental justice; the multi-faith promise of a growing response, linking Jewish communities deeply with our Christian, Muslim, and other counterparts; and the intergenerational urgency of staying relevant, as young people around the world lead the charge to address the climate crisis. Moderator: Rabbi Fred Scherlinder Dobb, Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life (COEJL) Speakers: Cassandra Carmichael, National Religious Partnership for the Environment(NRPE); Nigel Savage, Hazon; Joelle Novey, Interfaith Power and Light for MD-DC-NoVA. This event was held at the JCPA2020 National Conference, held from February 8-11, 2020 in Washington, D.C.

If Not Now, Then What? The Present and Future of Climate Change
Jewish Council for Public Affairs Workshop
2020

Peer-reviewed science offers a clear consensus: that climate change, caused by humans, is an existential threat, and the defining issue of our time. How can the Jewish community–from JCRCs to synagogues to national agencies–step up to meet this challenge? In this session, top Jewish and interfaith experts offer concrete suggestions on why, how, and with whom to prioritize climate change as a core Jewish communal concern. They discuss the coalitional value of Jewish visibility, especially around environmental justice; the multi-faith promise of a growing response, linking Jewish communities deeply with our Christian, Muslim, and other counterparts; and the intergenerational urgency of staying relevant, as young people around the world lead the charge to address the climate crisis. Moderator: Rabbi Fred Scherlinder Dobb, Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life (COEJL) Speakers: Cassandra Carmichael, National Religious Partnership for the Environment(NRPE); Nigel Savage, Hazon; Joelle Novey, Interfaith Power and Light for MD-DC-NoVA

Global Environmental Justice Documentaries
2019

The Global Environmental Justice Documentaries collection has many interreligious films.. First released April 2019, this project is a curated compilation of 25 documentaries selected by faculty who wrote the accompanying teacher's guides. The subscriptions, which support the project, are especially low, thanks to underwriting provided by the Luce Foundation.

Ecojustice: Equity and Wellbeing in an Ecological Age
Conversations on Pluralism Series
All Paths Divinity School, The Southern California Committee for a Parliament of the World’s Religions, and Toward Ecological Civilization
2018
A panel of interfaith leaders discuss interreligious understandings of what it means to live in an ecological age and the radical concept of ecojustice.
Faith-Based Perspectives on Respect for Creation
2018 Parliament of the World's Religions
2018

Nearly all religious and spiritual traditions of the world call upon their followers to respect creation and preserve it for future generations. This moderated panel discussion will include Catholic, Spiritualist, Zoroastrian, and Hindu perspectives, with a Q&A to follow.

Spiritual Ecology: The Cry of the Earth Book Trailer
Spiritual Ecology: The Cry of the Earth, A Collection of Essays Edited by Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee
2013

Showing the deep connection between our present ecological crisis and our lack of awareness of the sacred nature of creation, this series of essays from spiritual and environmental leaders around the world shows how humanity can transform its relationship with the Earth. Combining the thoughts and beliefs from a diverse range of essayists, this collection highlights the current ecological crisis and articulates a much-needed spiritual response to it. Perspectives from Buddhism, Sufism, Christianity, and Native American beliefs as well as physics, deep psychology, and other environmental disciplines, make this a well-rounded contribution.

“Spirituality & the Environment”
His Holiness, the 14th Dalai Lama and other religious leaders
University of Portland
2013

His Holiness, the 14th Dalai Lama joins Father E. William Beauchamp, Grandmother Agnes Baker Pilgrim, Rabbi Michael Cahana, and Imam Muhammad Najeeb in an interfaith discussion on spirituality and the environment. The religious leaders draw from the depths of their traditions to highlight the importance of interfaith tolerance and respect for the interconnected web of life.

Religion and the Environment
Interfaith Power and Light
PBS: Religion and Ethics Newsweekly
2013

Interfaith Power and Light brings together people of different faiths to be better stewards of creation by responding to global warming and by supporting changes in environmental public policy. This video features interviews with various leaders of different religions from throughout the United States, highlighting what work their faith communities are doing, why they are compelled to do this work, and how they are engaging their communities to be better stewards of creation.
Click here to watch video

7 Billion Brothers and Sisters: The Dalai Lama’s Hope for the Planet
Produced by Carol Thomas Koon; Director/Cinematographer/Editor, Brian Kimmel
2013

The Dalai Lama brings together spiritual, political and scientific leaders for the Environmental Summit in Portland, Oregon to discuss spirituality and the environment. With an emphasis on personal responsibility, His Holiness, the 14th Dalai Lama says human-caused damage to the planet is immoral.

Mind and Life XXIII Conference, Session 1 - Ecology, Ethics and Interdependence
His Holiness, the 17th Karmapa
Dharamsala, India
2011

His Holiness, the 17th Karmapa speaking at His Holiness the Dalai Lama's gathering of contemplative scholars, activists and ecological scientists who discuss the interconnection between individual choices and environmental consequences.

Mind and Life Conference XXIII, Session 1 - Ecology, Ethics and Interdependence
Dharamsala, India
2011

His Holiness the Dalai Lama in dialogue with contemplative scholars, activists and ecological scientists who discuss the interconnection between individual choices and environmental consequences.

Header photo credit: ©EcoPeace Middle East